Shuttle feeler



27, R. c. DRAPER SHUTTLE FEELER Filed Jan. 19, 19

' INVENTORS. v Pose/e7- DEA FEE. BY VINCE/v7- 4/. OZELLA Patented Apr. 27, 1943 SHUTTLE FEELER Robert C. Drapen, iHoped ale,v and Yincent J. Ozella, Milford, Mass, assignors, to, D raper C rp r ti n H ne a Mass-La o rno ailonqt ppli ation Janua y er a N .9. 271 1 f Cla m- This invention relates to. automatic fillingire plenishing loomsand more particularly to an-.in 1- provement in a shuttle feeler for use in such. a loom.

In looms where the filling carrier in theshuttlev is automatically replaced asrequired, it isnecessary that the shuttle be in a definite position for the replenishing operation properly to be accomplished.

To prevent an attempted transfer when the shuttleis not in position, it is usual practice tov provid a feeling device to approach the shuttle. when there is'a call for a transfer to determine. its position, and to revoke the call if the shuttle is not properly placed.

One form of shuttle feeler, well known in thev art, comprises an arm pivoted to the loomframe and actuated by the transfer mechanism to move rearwardly over the top of the lay and across the open end of the shuttle box into the path of the shuttle. If the shuttle is properly boxed the movement of the arm will not be interfered with, but if the shuttle is in a position to obstruct the travel of the arm the latter will act, through a train of mechanism, to prevent the transfer from occurring.

The position of the shuttle must be correct within close limits, and it is desirable to set thearm to clear the innermost shuttle tip by but a slight amount when the shuttl is properly boxed.

In such prior devices no means were provided for readily adjusting the lateral position of the tip portion of the arm relative to the shuttle.

The tip could be adjusted in this direction only by careful filing and fitting of the parts. Such an expedient was time consuming and the final result was notalways satisfactory.

It is an object of this invention to provide a shuttle feeler, of the type having an arm which is moved rearwardly over the lay, with a meanswhich will permit ready lateral adjustment of the position of the tip of the feeler arm relative tothe shuttl without disassembling the parts or altering the form thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shuttle feeler arm with a connection between the nd portions thereof of such form that the tip portion of the arm can be adjusted easily in a position laterally of the remainder thereof, and made to approach or recede from the position occupied by a tip of the shuttle when it is properly boxed, without alteration of the parts of the feeler.

These and other objects may be accomplished by the construction shown in the.fol-lowing;1; 1 i1a .\1v -v ing; which represents a. pr ferred embodiment: of our invention.andjnqwhicha Big. L represents abortion. of; the. illin re lene. ishing. end' of a loom withthe; improved; shuttle. feeler mounted. thereon;

Rig. 2 re resents a perspective view. of. he shuttle. feelerv with the. parts; disassembled. but in proper relativ position. fonassemblyi Big. 3. represents. a, plan. view-0f the: shuttle feelerin. assembled condition, to.- a diirerentg scale from that shown. in, Fig. 2;

In the drawing; the. parts of: the, loom shown. comprise portions ofr a breast beam. 1; on. which; is mounted: a magazin 2" for reserve. filling; carriers. The lay, indicated at: 3; hasaflixed thereto, the usual shuttle boxes, one, of; which is shown: at 4, on the replenishing side. of the loom.

The shuttle. 5. entersthe. shuttle; box 4; on alternate. picks, and; for a replenishing operation. properly to occur must. be. positioned; therein; directly. beneath the. magazine. so. that the. new. filling carrier can. be secured in the. shuttle and the exhausted filling carrier. ejected therefrom by the transfer mechanism, in a manner well: known in the art.

If th shuttle is not. properly. boxed on the replenishing operation, there isa likelihood: that parts-of the-loom. will bebroken ontheattempted' transfer, or that the. filling carrier will; be placedinsecurelyin the shuttle in. a manner which will not permit the: filling to be drawn from it, or which will cause it to interfere. with and rupture; the warp threads on subsequent picks.

To determine if the shuttle is. in the correct position for transfer, a device is placed on. the loom which will feel for the position of the shuttle on a call for transfer, and revoke the call if th position is not proper- As. stated previously, it is an object of this. invention. to'

provide an improved form of device. for this. purpose. I

The shuttle feeler 6' is mounted on a stud 1 secured to a bracket 8 which is fastened to. the? loom frame by the bolts 9. A pin- L0 is formed not shown herein because it forms no part of the present invention.

When the transverse shaft is so rocked, the

arm I 2 aflixed to it partakes of the rocking movement, and the pivot point l3' of the lever ll fol lows the latter. Through the action of the spring IS the lever H is now rotated about its pivot point, also in a clockwise direction, and the bifurcated portion engages the pin H] to rotate the shuttle feeler 6 about the stud I in a counterclockwise direction.

The rotation of the shuttle feeler causes the tip portion [8 to be projected rearwardly, over the top of the lay and into the path taken by the shuttle in its flight across the lay. When the force causing the shaft 14 to be rocked is released, the interaction of the spring I and the projection l6 on the parts will cause them to assume their original positions.

The feeler tip is adjusted so that it clears the spur I9 of the shuttle when the latter is boxed properly. If the shuttle is not fully in the shuttle box, the tip portion will contact it and prevent the shuttle feeler 6 from completing its rotary movement, in which case a member attached to'the feeler will actuate a train of mechanism to prevent the transfer from taking place, in a manner known in the art.

- The shuttle must be positioned accurately in the shuttle box within close limits to be in a proper position for transfer of a new filling carrier, and the shuttle feeler tip must be so located that it will have only a slight clearance with the spur l9 under these conditions. The present invention provides a means for adjusting the position of the shuttle feeler tip readily and easily to give-the desired clearance.

1 According to the present invention, the shuttle feeler comprises two parts, a tip portion l8 and a body portion 2 l. The tip portion is secured to the body portion by the adjustable connection 22. 1 The body portion has formed on the end of it a flange 23, extending in the general longitudinal direction of the body, and a projection 24 extending at right angles to the flange. Through the flange is placed an opening 25 to accommodate a fastening means.

The tip portion has a flange 25 formed on it extending at. right angles to the .general longitudinal direction thereof, and has a slot 21 formed in it and extending across the flange in a direction parallel with the bottom edge thereof.

The shuttle feeler is assembled so that the flange 26 on the feeler tip abuts the flange 23 on the body portion, and the lower edge of the first flange rests on the projection 24. In this posiment the flange 26 will rest on the flange 23 and the projection 24 in a manner to provide a rigid connection when the nut 30 is tightened on the bolt.

Figure 3 shows the feeler tip in two of its possible positions as indicated by the full lines l8 and the dotted lines 18'.

When the shuttler feeler is assembled on the doom, a gauge can be placed in the shuttle box in' the position normally occupied by the shuttle. With the nut 30 loose on the bolt 28 the feeler tip can be moved accurately into position as indicated by the gauge. The nut can now be tightened to' hold the parts fixedly in the adjusted position.

If further adjustment is found to be necessary due to wear of the parts after the loom has been in operation, the simple manipulations of loosening the nut, moving the feeler tip and again tightening the nut are all that are required to bring the feeler tip into its proper position. This can be done without disassembling any of the parts of the shuttle feeler or altering the form thereof.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of our invention, we claim:

A shuttle feeler comprising a body member formedin two parts, one of said parts being a shuttle engaging portion, said two parts having means incorporated therewith to enable said two parts to be assembled together in a unitary manner, said means comprising a flange extending from an end portion of one of said parts and disposed approximately longitudinally of said part, said part having a projection extending from the aforesaid end portion at the point of connection of said flange and said part and at right angles to said flange, said flange having an opening formed therein, the other of said parts having a flange extending from an end portion thereof and disposed at right angles to the longitudinal dimension of said part, said flange being arranged to abut adjacent faces of said first named flange and said projection, said second named flange having a slot formed therein in a position in axial alignment with said opening in said first named flange when said flanges and said projection are placed in abutting relationship, said flanges and' said projection being formed to enable one of said parts to be moved along the said abutting faces relative to the other of said parts, and means passing through saidopening and said slot to secure said parts together in a unitary manner.

ROBERT C. DRAPER.

VINCENT J. OZELLA. 

